Trump suggested making Iceland the US’s 51st state

US President Donald Trump suggested that Iceland should become the 51st state of the United States during a phone call with Bjarni Benediktsson, Iceland’s prime minister at the time, mbl.is reports. RÚV was the first to report the details.

The call took place shortly before Iceland’s parliamentary election, according to RÚV. Trump was already known to have called Benediktsson on November 26, 2024, and expressed strong interest in Iceland. The new detail is that he allegedly proposed incorporating Iceland into the United States.

In a Facebook post published on the day of the call, Benediktsson said Trump had been very interested in Iceland but did not mention the proposal.

The matter was presented at the latest meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee, reportedly surprising its members.

RÚV described the call as unusual and informal. It did not take place through normal diplomatic channels, and no one in the US internal system was reportedly aware of it. The call was not recorded or documented in writing by either side.

A memorandum written by an international affairs official at the Prime Minister’s Office sheds light on Trump’s proposal. The proposal was not mentioned in the Prime Minister’s Office’s press release about the call.

Benediktsson reportedly dismissed Trump’s idea of incorporating Iceland into the United States as a joke. Trump is then said to have interrupted him and asked him to consider the proposal carefully after winning the election.

RÚV said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs declined to provide the memorandum, citing an exemption in Iceland’s freedom of information law covering communications with foreign states and international organisations. Sources who had seen the document reportedly interpreted the seriousness of Trump’s proposal differently: some believed he was joking, while others did not.

The report comes after Trump was criticised by Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir and Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir for publishing an image suggesting that Iceland was part of the United States. Iceland was shown covered in American flag colours, and US Ambassador Billy Long was summoned by the foreign minister.

Trump has also faced criticism for expressing interest in Greenland. Despite strong international opposition, he has continued making statements about the territory and its resources. Denmark and other US allies in NATO, as well as the European Union, have reacted angrily. The EU has announced 200 million euros in investment for Greenland.